Betrayal
by Farmer Jen
Summary: A series of short stories about the tragic lives of the men in Mineral Town.
1. Introduction

Life can be kind, and life can be cruel.  
Can a person predict its fickle ways?  
No, for the future's a blinding swirl,  
Or so say five men with no place in the world,  
Betrayed and abandoned by one special girl.  
  
One found his wife in another's arms,  
One was dismissed by an ill-fated blow.  
One woke to see her turned into a mother,  
One was abandoned for the charms of another,  
One found that for some, love tends to smother.  
  
Between these men there seems to be  
A common story of dreadful hurt.  
Each of them felt love's great woe.  
They couldn't stop it, how could they know  
That wherever they went, sadness too would go? 


	2. Betrayal

Have you ever had the one thing you loved most in your life wrenched away from you without warning? Perhaps; everything dies some day. But was she still alive when you lost her? Did you have to see her every day after you lost her, though her presence was painful? Had she been your friend and lover for five long years? Was she your wife in everything but name?  
  
Were you, in fact, hiding the two rings that were made to bind you in eternal love on a chain around your neck?  
  
Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? Mind you, I'm not feeling sorry for myself. Those are just the facts. Here's my story.  
  
She first came to me when she was fifteen, requesting that I teach her all I know about my career. Though I was five years her senior, I couldn't help running my eyes over her. At first, she seemed very plain. Her chestnut- brown hair was cut as short as mine, and her body was hidden by a shapeless blue dress, the only hint of her curves shown by the apron tied around her slender waist. She had big, soft brown eyes that somehow reminded me of a cow. Gentle, loving. I shook my head quickly, ridding my mind of these thoughts. I was no pedophile, and I refused to look at a minor that way. She was a sweetheart, though, and I took a liking to her.  
  
My fondness for her increased as I taught her. She was very quick, and wasn't hesitant to ask me questions when she was unsure of something. Those big brown eyes took in everything around her, and memorized everything in the immense medical textbooks around her. Generations of skill were passed down to her, as both her mother and her grandmother had been midwives. By the time she was seventeen, I made her my assistant nurse.  
  
I felt my affection for her swell to enormous proportions. I didn't just like this girl. She wasn't just my apprentice. She was my best friend, and I loved her.  
  
She became the one I ran to with my problems. When I had something to say, she just sat and listened, those soft brown eyes taking in every word I said. She was the first one in the village to learn my real name. To her, I wasn't the distant Doctor that was only important when the flu came to town. She knew me as Kevin, the man, someone who she could talk to and come to with her emotional problems as well as her physical ones. I was something more to her.  
  
The summer after she turned seventeen, she invited me to the beach to watch the fireworks with her. I accepted, and she told me to bring my swimming trunks, as we would be going for a nighttime swim after the show.  
  
When I got to the beach, trunks and towel draped over my arm, she was waiting for me. "Sit here, Kevin," she said, patting a space next to her on the big beach towel she had spread out on the sand. I complied. As the colorful rockets went off in the sky, I felt her lean against me, her head on my shoulder.  
  
"Have I ever told you how I felt about you, Kevin?" I looked around for nearby people. Everyone else on the beach was engaged in the fireworks. I turned my head back to my shoulder, and my eyes found hers. She smiled.  
  
"I love you, Doctor."  
  
How clichéd can you get? I heard those words from her for the first time as she leaned against my shoulder on a warm summer night, watching fireworks explode in the air. It just seemed so perfect. This girl that I had secretly loved for two years just admitted that the feeling was mutual. My life was perfect.  
  
"I love you too, Elli."  
  
When everyone left, we sat for a moment, enjoying each other's company. Then she headed off behind the beach house to change into her suit, and I changed on the beach. I walked over to the dock and sat on the edge, dangling my feet in the water.  
  
"I'm ready."  
  
I turned around, and there she was: my gorgeous Elli, unburdened by her frumpy dress and housewife-esque apron, standing on the beach in a string bikini. I could appreciate her curves for the first time now, and I took in her shape greedily. She walked up to me and slid her arms around my waist, hugging me. Suddenly we lost our balance, and tumbled into the water, laughing all the way down. Our lips met, and we reveled in each other's kisses. Somehow, the suits were lost in our passion, and we lost ourselves under the moonlight.  
  
For the next two seasons, she was my lover. Of course, no one could know of it; what would the village say if they knew what exactly I was doing with that particular minor? Twenty-two year old men should be with women their own age, not with teenagers. But that didn't stop us. She would complain of an almost nightly stomachache to her grandmother, and would end up in the clinic overnight. Of course, her stomach was fine. So was every other part of her, and I knew her body so intimately that I would know if anything was wrong. I knew the shape of the birthmark on her thigh as well as the back of my hand. Life was wonderful.  
  
One morning she came into the clinic, her face drawn with worry. I took her into my embrace and asked her what the matter was.  
  
"I missed it," she said, wringing her apron in her hands. It was full of wrinkles, and I assumed she had been doing this for a while. "Twice."  
  
"What did you miss?" I asked, fearing for the worst.  
  
She looked straight into my eyes, and my worries were confirmed. She was carrying my unwanted child. "What can we do?" I inquired, holding her hands to keep her from wrinkling her apron more.  
  
She sighed mournfully, and tears ran down her cheeks. "I don't believe in abortions, but...oh, Kevin, I can't ruin my life this way!" With that, she fell into my arms, her liquid misery seeping into my shirt.  
  
I had no choice but to get her the antidote. It hurt so badly, and I knew what I was doing when I removed the child from her womb: I was killing my own baby. I was a murderer, and I had killed my own child. I hated myself for it, and I knew that Elli hated herself too. That winter was a cold one indeed.  
  
Spring came, along with Elli's eighteenth birthday. It cheered us slightly that what we were doing together was now legitimate. In celebration, we walked up to the top of Mother's Hill, looking out at the fantastic view below. As we sat there, holding each other and watching the sunset, we heard footsteps behind us. We turned, and there was none other than Pastor Carter, taking a walk. We threw ourselves apart, but it was too late; Carter had spotted us.  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "So that's why Elli's never at home at night," he said. "How long have you two been seeing each other?" My mind filled with dread. He knew, he knew! The purest man in the village knew that we had been sleeping together for the past two seasons. How could we get out of this one?  
  
Carter sighed, shaking his head. "You do know that it's a sin to bed before you're married, right?" I looked at Elli. Her eyes were cast to the ground, ashamed.  
  
I looked up at the Pastor, biting my lip. "Please don't tell anyone," I pleaded. "It would ruin Elli's life. She'd be called a whore when she walked through the streets, and I don't know if I could take it..."  
  
Elli looked at me, shocked. "You wouldn't be around to be upset about it!" she cried. "You'd be in jail for sleeping with a minor!" My eyes widened. It was true: I'd go to jail for being in love with Elli.  
  
Carter looked at us, and put his hand into a pocket in his robes, searching for something. He pulled the hand out, and in it were two gold rings and two silver chains. He looked up at us.  
  
"Take these," he said. "You two can't get married yet; you're much too young, and it would ruin both your lives. But this way, you'll be married in spirit, and I won't have to tell the villagers that you've been doing anything illegal. Husbands and wives are supposed to make love, right?"  
  
We took the rings, strung them on the chains, and hung them around our necks, hiding them inconspicuously under our clothing. "Thank you, Pastor!" screamed Elli, throwing her arms around his neck. I shook Carter's hand, knowing that I would be forever grateful to him. These would last us until we were ready to get married for real.  
  
Two years passed in relative quiet. Elli still lived with her grandmother, though her nights were spent with me in the clinic. We lived in almost as much happiness as a married couple, our only problem the fear that we would be discovered. But other than that, our lives were happy.  
  
Or so I thought.  
  
One day, a new farmer came to the village. He inherited the farm that his grandfather had just left behind when he died. The farmer's name was Jack, and he was a really nice guy. The first time he walked into the clinic, he had scraped up his knee pretty badly, and Elli gave him a bandage. Weeks passed by, and Jack became a great friend of mine. He brought me wine occasionally, and I marveled at the kindness of this man I barely knew. He flirted with Elli a bit, but I didn't dislike him; how could he know that we were lovers?  
  
One night, as Elli lay in my arms after a bout of lovemaking, she talked to me about Jack. "Did I tell you that he asked me to the Goddess Festival?" she asked me.  
  
I shook my head. "What did you say?" I asked, tensing in fear.  
  
Elli felt me tense, and she laughed. "I told him that I was going with someone else, of course." She kissed me on my nose. "Don't be jealous, Kevvy. You know I would never go with anyone but you."  
  
I laughed as well, my nervousness abating. How could I ever doubt her? "Well, you never know," I said teasingly. "You're a gorgeous girl, and it would be easy enough for some guy to decide to steal you away."  
  
The seasons came and went. At about midsummer, Elli informed me that her grandmother was ill, and that she would be sleeping at home to make sure she was all right. I was sad, but I kissed her goodbye and gave her a bottle of Bodigizer for her grandmother. She kissed me back, but for some reason, her kiss seemed colder than usual. Perhaps I was just overreacting from the fact that I would be sleeping alone for a while.  
  
A week later, when the clinic was closed, I went out for a walk. Elli's grandmother sat on a rocking chair outside of her house, and I waved to her as I passed by. She didn't seem to be ill...in fact, she seemed to be the picture of perfect health. I pushed those thoughts out of my brain, reminding myself that looks could often be deceiving. "Feeling better?" I asked. She looked at me, puzzled. "I guess," she said, smiling as if to some child who had just proposed that the moon was made of cheese. I would have questioned her on this, but I was expected at someone's home, and I couldn't stop to chat.  
  
I felt suspicion well up in me like an overflowing bathtub. What was up with Elli? Why was she acting so strange lately? It baffled me, and over the next few weeks I watched her a little closer.  
  
One day in autumn as I sat in my office, writing up a report on the health of the villagers, I heard the door open and close. I ignored it and continued on my work. Soon, I heard giggling. I paused in my report. That wasn't the kind of laugh she had when she was giggling with her friends over the latest gossip in the village. No, that was the sound Elli made when I kissed the side of her neck when we sat alone in the back pews in church, or trailed my fingers up the inside of her thighs when we were supposed to be watching the sunrise on New Year's Eve. That was the quiet, try-to-be-inconspicuous sound Elli made when she was doing something naughty in the same room as other people.  
  
And it wasn't with me.  
  
I peeked out from behind the curtains that served as the walls to my office, only putting my head out far enough to see Elli's position at the reception desk. I had done this often over the years, watching as she idly filed her nails while waiting for someone to enter the clinic, or as she pointed out pretty dresses in catalogues with the occasional visiting friend. But this time what I saw wasn't happy, and I wasn't gazing dreamily at her while she played solitaire at the reception desk.  
  
Jack was behind her chair, running his hands along her upper arms, kissing the sides of her neck as I had done so many times before over the past two years. My jaw dropped as I saw his hands wander to her breasts, fondling them as only I had before. His hands went back up to the collar of her dress, and slipped in side it, feeling down her chest. He stopped suddenly, and pulled his hand back up, holding something. It was our ring.  
  
"What is this thing?" he asked quietly, looking at her. "I was gonna ask you why you wear it if you're just gonna take it off every night before we do it."  
  
Elli smiled at him, and I felt my heart pang with grief. That was my smile. Mine. Tat was the smile she had given me on that summer night at the fireworks show when she told me she loved me. "It's nothing," she said. "Just some useless piece of junk." With that, she took the necklace from Jack's hands and tossed it in the trash.  
  
I pulled my head back into my office, staring through the unfinished report in my lap. It all made sense now. My lonely nights, the cold kisses that had grown sparse, her lack of desire for the public affection that she had once loved. The healthy grandmother, sitting outside of her house, looking at me like I was a fool. And I was a fool. How right she was.  
  
The giggling continued, and then I heard Elli speak. "You'd better go, Jack," she whispered. To me, it sounded like a booming roar. "I don't want Old Grumpy over there to hear us."  
  
Jack laughed. "Of course not," he returned. I heard the sound of a kiss on her cheek. My cheek. "See ya tonight, babe." The door opened, then closed.  
  
I felt my heart twist in pain, and disappear into nothingness. I continued to stare through the document on my lap until Elli popped her head into my office. "I'm going home, ok, Doctor?" She looked at me, tilting her head. "You don't look so good. Maybe you should go to bed early tonight." I nodded. She took the paper from my hands, and smiled. "I'll finish this," she said. "I'm sure Grandma won't mind if I take a break from feeding her spoonfuls of Bodigizer to do a bit of paperwork. 'Night!" The door opened and closed again, and Elli walked out of the clinic.  
  
I turned off all the lights and locked up, doing everything mechanically. I found myself in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. My head turned to the empty pillow to my left, and I remembered the head that used to lay there, the big brown eyes that would open in the morning, look into mine, and then work together with the mouth to make what I thought was my personal smile. I remembered waking up to see those eyes staring down at the ring that she wore around her neck, fiddling with it. I remembered so many things. Everything about her seemed to be embedded in that pillow. I looked down at my body, and saw that I had automatically curved into the position I would've taken to line up against her body, my arm draped across the empty bed. I felt the tears come freely now, spilling down onto that empty pillow, into what would have been her hair.  
  
A week later, Elli came to me, smiling brightly. "I have great news, Doctor!" she exclaimed.  
  
I feigned a smile. "What's up?"  
  
"Jack asked me to marry him!"  
  
I somehow kept the fake smile on my face, pretending to be understanding. "That's great!" I said, wondering if I would explode at that moment.  
  
Elli leapt at me and hugged me, the first genuine hug that I'd gotten from her for three seasons. "I just knew you'd approve!" she cried, and kissed me on the cheek. I beamed at her, hoping that it looked real. She ran out of the clinic, screaming with joy, and I let my face drop. When I thought about her walking out of my life, I definitely didn't expect her to be skipping as she did so, much less screaming with happiness. I willed the tears away for now, saving them for her wedding, hoping that people would think I was just a sensitive man at a happy event, and not a blubbering love-deprived fool.  
  
I sat alone in the back pew at the wedding. I didn't want to be near anyone else, though sitting in that pew pained me. I couldn't hold back the many memories that flooded me there, making me remember what I had done in that pew with the bride in previous years. I watched as Jack kissed Elli on the lips, in the position that I had always hoped I would end up in. But of course not. That would never happen to Old Grumpy. Old Grumpy would be a bachelor for life, watching the younger people get married and have happy lives and big families. Has anyone ever been so bitter at their best friend's wedding? Probably not. Who could be bitterer than Old Grumpy?  
  
The tears flowed from my eyes many more times after that wedding. I was alone in the clinic all the time. Sure, the customers kept me company, but I was never as close to any of them as I was to Elli. My best friend beside her had been Jack, and he never came to the clinic at all after he married Elli. Well, except for once, when he found out that Elli was pregnant.  
  
When he told me that she was carrying his child, I faked a smile and told him how wonderful it was, and what he had to do to take care of his pregnant wife. But inside I was seething. I wanted nothing more than to tell him that Elli had been carrying my child first, but I had cared for her reputation so much that I had killed that child with my bare hands to preserve it. I wanted to laugh in his face and tell him that it had been I that had taken her virginity, I who had to buy different methods of birth control to keep from impregnating her again and again. It took me one try to get her pregnant, and it took him three whole seasons! He was a huge loser, and my sperm were better, so there.  
  
But of course, I couldn't say that. I let my professional voice take over and tell him what to do and what she should eat. He asked me to be present at the birth, and I 'gladly' told him that I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world, and would make sure that the baby would come out safely.  
  
Unfortunately, I had to stay true to my word. The day came all to soon, and I helped Elli get Jack's child into the world. I was the first one to hold her baby girl in my arms, and the first to see those big, soft brown eyes looking into mine. Such betrayal by a woman I loved and a man I had liked, and yet I loved the result of it.  
  
Fifteen years later, a teenage girl with big brown eyes and a cute, though shapeless, dress came to the doorstep of the clinic. She asked me to teach her everything I knew.  
  
I complied. 


	3. Forgotten

Have you ever felt that your life was a depthless pool that you were slowly drowning in? The stress of everyday life can sometimes get to people, but are your problems intolerable torture? Did you have the only woman you ever cared about in your life forget about you, completely unaware of the times you had together? Were you forced to see her everyday, live in the same place as her, listen to her talk about the uselessness of love as if you were never a part of her life?  
  
Was she in love with another man?  
  
Yeah, it's possible for something this bad to happen to someone. It's kind of inconceivable. Hell, I still can't believe it happened to me. I bet you wouldn't believe it, either. My story's a sad one, and quite...unforgettable.  
  
Her name was Ann, and she was the light of my life. I met her in a harbor side bar as she attempted to brawl with a few of the drunkards there. Apparently, one of the brawny guys asked why a wimpy little broad like her was trying to hold her liquor in a man's bar, and that got her started. If she had punched him, he probably would've laughed it off and pretended it didn't hurt, having his cronies give her the boot.  
  
But Ann knew better than to let that happen to her. She scored him a knee in the groin, and an elbow on the back of his head when he doubled over in anguish. The elbow knocked him out, and Ann would have left the bar, victorious, if it weren't for the man's henchmen. When I entered the bar, spectators were grouped into a circle, watching a tomboy fight with three overgrown, brainless masses of flesh.  
  
What else could I do but jump into the fray? With the combination of Ann's wrath and sense of self-preservation, my natural inclination to play the hero, and the cronies' stupidity and large alcohol intake, we won the fight pretty easily. I came out of it with a black eye, and Ann with a torn shirtsleeve, but aside for that, we were just about untouched. The spectators cheered, and brought us a couple of beers on the house, as well as an icepack for my eye.  
  
She turned and smiled at me. "Thanks, stranger," she said. "What's your name and where're you from?"  
  
I returned her grin. "The name's Cliff," I replied. "I'm not from anywhere in particular. I guess I'm kind of a vagabond. What about you?"  
  
"I'm Ann," she said. "I'm from a little island off the coast of here. It's called Mineral Town, and it's kind of a farming community. Great place, though. My dad runs an inn there, and I work all day."  
  
I laughed, but cut it short when my eye reminded me of its condition with a flood of pain. "I guess your ability to hold your booze comes from being an innkeeper's daughter, huh?"  
  
Ann grabbed her mug of beer and gulped a portion of it down. "Damn straight!"  
  
Ann and I talked until late in the night. At about 4 am, we decided that we should each be on our separate ways. Ann's father would kill her for staying out so late, and she didn't want to further his anger by staying out for a whole day. Sadly, we parted - but not before I got her phone number and address. She couldn't write to me because of my travels, but I told her I would write to her whenever I got the chance.  
  
She gave me an incredulous laugh. "I'm sure you say that to all the girls you meet on your travels."  
  
"Of course not!" I exclaimed, offended. "I don't meet too many girls that appeal to me." I laughed for a moment, and then continued. "I definitely have yet to find another girl that can hold her own in a bar fight."  
  
She smiled sweetly and hugged me. "I don't think there are any other guys in the world that are quite like you, Cliff," she said. Her head rested against my neck, and I felt her warm breath as she whispered in my ear.  
  
"What do you say to a night you'll never forget?"  
  
Now, I was no virgin, but to this day I've never had an experience quite like that. Those exquisite bursts of feelings that ran through me that night...back then, I thought it was just the liquor, but today I know now what it really was: love. Love! Can you imagine? Me, Cliff, in love? How odd! It could never happen!  
  
But it did.  
  
My travels continued on. I wrote to Ann every once in a while, and talked to her on the phone when I could. Our conversations tended to evolve from innocent "how's life?" conversations to some very...interesting subjects. I couldn't talk to her on quiet restaurant payphones anymore because of them; I had to venture out to noisy bars so that no one would hear us talking, or pay attention to any...reactions I had to the phone calls. They say that when a girl's sexuality is restricted, it floods outwards in leaps and bounds when it's finally unleashed.  
  
Ann must've lived a very sheltered life.  
  
Though it had been over a year since I left Ann on the ferry back to her little island, I remained pure. Sure, some cheap sluts on the streets had mad me some offers, but I refused, not even tempted. By this point in time, I had realized that there was something special about Ann, something I could never find in another woman and wouldn't be content without. I made up my mind: I had to go visit her, for my sanity's sake.  
  
I made my way back to the shady seaside town I met her in a year ago. The bar was full of the same type of characters as it had been back then, though I didn't see those four punks that we beat the crap out of back then. The bartender tipped his hat to me as I walked by, obviously recognizing me. The laws of human nature say that a person hates to be forgotten, which is why they try so hard to make it into the history books. It seemed that I had made a name for myself in this little village. Those thugs would be telling their children about how a seven-foot-tall man with muscles bigger than their heads rushed in and beat them up just because they were trying to pick up a sleazily-dressed prostitute that the man had slept with before.  
  
Oh, I had to tell Ann that one. She'd get a kick out of that. I walked toward the rusty payphone in the back of the room, ready to tell Ann my new little fictional story, and dug a couple of quarters out of my pocket. I put them in the coin slot and shifted comfortably against the wall, ready for a long conversation. I was feeling very upbeat in anticipation of the next day. I was going to see Ann again!  
  
"Hello?" said a voice on the other line. Ann's voice. So sweet and cheerful...that voice had brought me out of the pits more than once over the past year.  
  
"Hey, doll face." I grinned to myself. That term had to be the least romantic term in the world, and I knew she agreed with me.  
  
"Excuse me?" she said, sounding aggravated. "Can I help you?"  
  
I laughed. When had she come up with this new game? "I can think of a bunch of ways you can help me, baby..." With that, I started to list of a number of dirty things, imagining the blush spreading on her cheeks on the other end. How I longed to kiss those cheeks!  
  
My little speech was interrupted by a click on the other end of the line. I stared at the mouthpiece, dumbfounded, until I heard a steady beeping. Ann hung up on me! I hastily pulled out some more quarters and called her back.  
  
"Hel-"  
  
"Ann, I'm so sorry!" I cried. "I didn't know you weren't in the mood to talk like that! Please forgive me!"  
  
"What?" exclaimed the voice. In my haste to apologize to Ann, I hadn't realized that a man had picked up the phone. His voice was gruff, and he sounded like he was in his early 50's. I'd never had him pick up the phone before, but I figured that he was her father, Doug.  
  
I decided to make sure. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is this Doug?"  
  
"Yeah," said the voice. Judging by his tone of voice, he didn't want to put up with any shit just now. "What d'ya want with Ann?"  
  
"I'm her friend, Cliff. I met Ann a year ago at a bar off the coast of Mineral Town, and have been talking with her through letters and over the phone regularly since then. I guess she didn't recognize my voice just now, and my choice of words might have been a little too...intimate."  
  
"Oh," said Doug. It seemed like I managed to placate him. "Ann told me about you." He hesitated, swallowed. "I have some bad news to tell you, Cliff. You may want to sit down for a minute."  
  
I grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it, worried. Has something bad happened to Ann?  
  
"Two weeks ago, Ann was swimming with some of her friends down at the beach. She accidentally dove into shallow water and hit her head on a rock. Her friends managed to get her to the doctor in time, so she's alive and well. There's only one problem." He swallowed. "As an effect of hitting her head so hard, Ann got amnesia. We've reintroduced her to the entire village, and she's been getting to know everyone all over again. I hate to tell you this, Cliff," he said. I could tell he was trying hard to hold back tears, as was I.  
  
"Ann doesn't remember a thing about you."  
  
The room spun about me in dizzying circles, a blur of nonsensical colors in front of my face. Ha. Great prank. Of course Ann remembered me. She loved me! I loved her! There was nothing that could change that. Nothing! Nothing!!!  
  
I felt a hand slap my face, hard, and realized I had been laughing hysterically. The bartender caught my eyes and shook his head, holding out a mug of some frothy stuff. "It's on the house, bud," he said. "Didn't mean to slap ya so hard." He walked back behind the counter.  
  
I looked over at the payphone. The phone was hanging down, with a faint voice calling from it. I put the receiver up to my ear.  
  
"Cliff? Hello?" Doug's voice came from the other end, sounding worried. I breathed heavily into the phone, letting him know that I was still there. "Oh, Cliff, I thought I lost you," he said.  
  
"Listen, Cliff, I know how hard this is for you. And those aren't just words, believe me. You've only known her for a year. I raised this girl with my bare hands, loved her from the day she was born, but she still had no idea who I was. I'm still trying to get my baby to love me again, and I know it will never be the same as it was before...unless I can get her to remember." He sighed painfully.  
  
"I know you two were in love," he said. "I've seen some of the letters you've written to her. Maybe, if you come to the village, she'll recognize you. Maybe she'll remember you. Can you come down?"  
  
I felt a ray of warm hope fill me, air-drying my tearstained cheeks. "I'm at that seaside port right now, Doug," I said. "I was planning on coming down tomorrow; that's why I called in the first place. Do you really think she'll remember?"  
  
Doug laughed lightly. "I hope so," he said. "I just want my little girl back."  
  
I smiled. "I'll be there tomorrow."  
  
***  
  
I boarded the small ferry at dawn the next day. Some storm clouds overhead sent a light drizzle cascading downwards, but the conditions were fine for a little sea travel. I was the only person on board beside the crew of three. The captain smiled at me as I walked on, but the sailors didn't even acknowledge my presence. The captain was an aging man with dark skin and fluffy white hair, who looked like he was made for the sea. The crewmembers appeared to be his relatives. They both seemed a little upset about something, but I honestly didn't care enough to ask.  
  
"Welcome aboard," said the captain. "I'm Greg, and I'll be sailing this little ship today. Have a seat over there by my crew, young man, and we'll be off. The trip's only a half hour, so just sit back and enjoy the ride."  
  
I sat down a where he indicated, dropping my bag at my feet. There didn't seem to be too much to do on the ferry, and the two men near me just sat there the whole time. They were talking in low tones about something they obviously didn't want Greg to hear, gesticulating at a blueprint of what seemed to be the ferry. I decided to ignore them.  
  
Ann. I was so glad that she was alive! What would I have done if Doug had told me she was dead? I probably wouldn't be overhearing a conversation at the moment. Most likely, I'd be fish food.  
  
A small island loomed ahead of us. A deserted beach lay beyond the dock we landed at. Of course it was deserted; who would be at the beach when it's raining, even during the summer? Greg got off the ferry, and motioned for me to do so as well. "The boys are going to clean the decks before we set off again, so I'm free for now. What's your business here, young man?"  
  
"I'm going to the Inn," I replied.  
  
"All right," said Greg. "Just follow me."  
  
As we started to walk away, I heard an odd noise coming from the area of the ship. I turned around to see the two men that had stayed aboard leaving the dock.  
  
"Look!" I cried. Greg turned around as well. A look of fury crossed his face. He ran toward the dock, shaking his fist.  
  
"No! You boys come back here this instant! I mean it!" In return, the two men on the deck turned and flipped him the bird, laughing. Greg shook his head hopelessly. "Looks like we're gonna be here for a long while, young man."  
  
"Where will you stay?" I asked. I wanted to get to Ann as quickly as possible, but I didn't want to leave an old man all by himself.  
  
"Don't worry about me," Greg said. "I've got a place to stay. The Inn's over that way, so you can head on over there, if you like."  
  
I nodded. "Thanks for the lift."  
  
The Inn was a two story building in the center of Mineral Town. When I walked in, my heart skipped a beat. There she was, serving a table. She turned to me, smiling.  
  
But it wasn't a loving, happy smile. She smiled at me politely, as if greeting a stranger. "Hello," she said. "Welcome to the Inn. I'm Ann. Can I help you?"  
  
This was going to take a while.  
  
Over the summer season and half of autumn, I got to know Ann again. Doug had warned me not to mention her amnesia. She might think that I was trying to take advantage of her, and I knew that she would defend herself if she thought of me that way. I valued my ability to produce children, and steered clear of that topic. It wasn't easy, though. All I wanted to do was shake her shoulders and tell her how much I loved her, how much I wanted things to be like they used to be. The good thing was that she was starting to get a sort of crush on me. Our relationship was going somewhere again! Once she trusted me, I could tell her the truth of the situation!  
  
But nothing in life is that simple.  
  
Around mid-autumn, a newcomer came to the village. Apparently, he was filling in for an old farmer who had recently died. His name was Jack, and he took an immediate liking to Ann. He came to the Inn every day, giving her things her found and thought she'd like.  
  
Now, you'd think that I would hate a guy that was going after the woman I loved. The thing was, though, that Jack was a really nice guy. When I started to get low on cash at the end of the season, he turned me on to a job at the local vineyard. That winter, when I worked a little too hard in the snow, he dragged me off to the doctor's office when I passed out. Jack was one of my best friends. And the best part? Ann didn't even like him back!  
  
The following spring was wonderful. I had a secure job, a roof over my head, a best friend, and I was on the way to having the love of my life trust me enough for me to tell her the truth! Every day at noon, Ann would come to bring me a little food at the vineyard. We'd talk for a little while, and then she'd go back to the Inn. Everything just seemed too good to be true.  
  
You know, I really hate that saying.  
  
One day, as Ann and I were chatting together in the vineyard, Jack walked by. I waved and started to call him over, but Ann shook her head, paling.  
  
"No!" she said softly. But Jack had seen me, and sat with us under the tree. "What's up?" he asked.  
  
"Just having my daily snack with Ann," I replied. "Care to join us?" Jack looked at Ann, a little sharply. I saw her shrink back with fear, and wondered what was going on.  
  
"Do you have these picnics...every day?" said Jack. He was still facing Ann, but I figured that he was talking to me.  
  
"Yeah," I said. I laughed in an attempt to break the tension that had suddenly sprung up between us. "It's great to have some food after working so hard!"  
  
Jack nodded slowly. "I guess I'll be going, then," he said, and got up. Just as he was walking away, Ann jumped up and hurried after him.  
  
"Jack, wait!" she spun him around and held him close to her. "It's not what you think!"  
  
"I think it is," he said, and tried to turn around again.  
  
"Jack!" Ann spun him around and pressed her lips against his. "You know I love you! Why doubt it?"  
  
Jack shook his head, trying to pull away. "Cliff's a vagabond with a story to tell, and I'm just the average Joe. There's nothing special about me."  
  
Ann looked him straight in the eye. "I don't think there are any other guys in the world that are quite like you, Jack." Jack smiled and put his arm around her, and they walked off together.  
  
I felt hollow. I remembered the day that those exact same words were spoken to me, whispered lovingly into my ear. Were they meaningless? Did I mean nothing to her anymore?  
  
I found myself back at the Inn, sitting on Ann's bed in the back room. It was now or never. I had to blow it, to tell her the real reason I came to the village. I heard the door creak open, and saw her step inside. Her hair was messy; she had obviously been doing something with Jack that should have been reserved for me. She turned around, gasping when she saw me in her room.  
  
"Cliff!" she said. "I-"  
  
I stood and walked over to her. "Ann," I said, "you have to remember. I know it's hard, but you have to try. Don't you remember me, Ann? Can't you remember those times we had together, before the accident at the beach?"  
  
She looked at me, more than a little frightened. "How did you know about that?" she asked. "I never told you anything about that!"  
  
I held her steady, telling her the story. Our story. She shook her head. "Cliff, even if that's true, you have to understand: I don't remember any of this. Whatever might have happened between us just isn't real to me. I love Jack. We can still be friends, though." She smiled, that horribly impersonal, polite smile. "Now go on up to your room. I'm tired!"  
  
I walked away, a numb feeling spreading within me. Could it get any worse than this? I was nothing to her, nothing at all. I was the invisible man, unknown, unwanted.  
  
Forgotten. 


	4. Stolen

Have you ever felt like life has let you down? Were you lost in a world of darkness, only to find upon waking that nothing was the same? Have you ever been torn away from reality, thrust into a world of nightmares that never ended? Were you promised the world, only to see it snatched away in some kind of twisted April Fool's joke?  
  
Did your nightmares ever come true?  
  
Yeah, I know what you're thinking: How could someone wake up to a horror flick? I agree, it sounds impossible. But you know how you sometimes have dreams that seem so realistic that you can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality? That's the kind of dream I'm talking about. When normal people wake up from those kinds of dreams, they soon realize that they weren't true. But for me, it's different. For me, the dream goes on whether I'm awake or not.  
  
Imagine living eternally in your nightmares.  
  
It all started with a girl. It seems that a lot of bad endings start out with girls. They somehow manage to turn your life into a living hell, whether they mean to or not. In my case, the girl was blameless from start to finish. She loved me throughout my whole dilemma, and was faithful to me until necessity forcer her to be otherwise.  
  
Her name was Mary. The name itself brings the image of purity to the mind, and Mary indeed fitted her name. The combination of her loose cotton dress, dark braided hair, and deep, shy eyes hidden behind glass frames gave her the impression of a girl with nascent womanhood, just begging to be helped out. She was kind to all but those who defiled the tidy books on the shelves in her library, and their only punishment was to see a frowning face and a scolding finger. Very few got her into that state, for no one wanted to see a scowl on that beautiful face.  
  
It was Mary's kindness that kept me in the village, though I don't know where I would've gone if I left; I certainly couldn't go back home, since my parents loathed my existence. The only reason they didn't put me up for adoption was that my mother desperately wanted a child, but my father, a famous castrati, didn't quite have the balls for it. The only way my mother could have a child was by another man. I was raised by a man who despised me in every possible way. Once I was grown, my parents wanted nothing to do with me. I moved to Mineral Town when my grandfather Saibara offered to take me in as an apprentice at his blacksmith's shop there, hoping for a better life than the one back home.  
  
Life wasn't much better for me in Mineral Town. My grandfather criticized me constantly, never appreciating the work I did in his shop. There was always some flaw in whatever I did, and no matter how small it was, he berated me mercilessly for it. He didn't only use harsh words; he used a leather belt to emphasize his points about blacksmithing. My back was scarred with raw lines of disapproval.  
  
Dealing with my grandfather would have been easier if I had anyone to talk to. I never have been a very social person, and moving didn't change me in that respect. The only places I'd ever gone to were the grocery store to run some errands, or to the mountaintop on holidays, where I would meditate by myself. Saibara never let me go to the festivals, which is probably one of the reasons why I never made any friends. My life consisted of hard work, turning myself into a hermit, and having what little ego I had to begin with torn to shreds by my sadistic grandfather.  
  
One day, I decided that I was absolutely sick of Saibara and anything having to do with him. I needed to get out, to free myself from my own personal hell. But where could I go? I had no friends in the village, and no money to leave. I left the shop before the sun rose and walked aimlessly about the village, hoping to find somewhere to go.  
  
At about ten o'clock, I came upon a library. The building was large and old, covered in creeping strand of ivy that covered the whole building. Now, I wasn't a big fan of libraries, but for some reason, this one seemed...welcoming. A little sign near the door read, "Library Hours: 10 AM - 5 PM," with a picture of a book next to it for decoration. I walked up to the door and stared at it for a moment, taking a deep breath; I wasn't one to relish meeting new people. My sense of loneliness got the better of me, though, and I turned the handle and walked inside.  
  
The inside of the library was gorgeous. Wooden bookshelves lined the walls, with every book on them in perfect order. A couple of shiny tables sat near the back of the room, with matching chairs pushed under them. In the center of the room was a great staircase, which curved up to a second floor full of more neat bookshelves. The only thing the library was missing was another person.  
  
"Hello?" I called.  
  
I heard the loud sound of a head connecting with a piece of wood to my right, and turned to see what caused it. A well-organized librarian's desk sat there, complete with a coffee cup full of writing utensils, a reading lamp, and a small card catalogue. I hadn't noticed it before, being enthralled with the rest of the building.  
  
"Ouch!" said a soft, feminine voice. The librarian stood up, rubbing her head.  
  
That was the first time I saw Mary. She'd just been reorganizing her bottom drawers, which were the only neglected part of her library, and was a complete mess. Her black hair was loose, having come out of her braid, and her glasses were at an odd angle on her face. Her dress, usually as clean and tidy as Mary herself, was covered in dust. Needless to say, she was still absolutely stunning. Her cheeks blushed crimson when she saw me, and she hastily brushed a layer of dust off of her clothing.  
  
"W-welcome to the library," she said, trying to fix her hair. "Can I help you?"  
  
I smiled, probably for the first time since I'd moved to Mineral Town. "I guess," I said. "Could you, um, recommend any books to me?"  
  
Mary smiled back shyly. "That depends on what kind of book you're looking for. What's your favorite genre?"  
  
I thought for a moment. "I guess the science fiction genre is pretty girl." I mentally slapped myself, hard. "P-pretty good, I mean, uh, yeah." Nice going, Slick.  
  
Mary turned a shade of red I had formerly thought unique to tomatoes. She pointed silently to a shelf in the far corner of the room, and I walked over there promptly. Grabbing a random book, I sat at a table and stared blankly at one of the pages. Well, there goes a great opportunity, I thought. There's one more person who will never want to speak to me again.  
  
Luckily, I was wrong.  
  
Despite the fact that I had made a total ass of myself in front of Mary, I continued to visit her at the library regularly. Facing mortification was better that staying with Saibara all the time and having my self-esteem put through a meat grinder. Besides, Mary was a very forgiving girl. We kept our conversations down to a minimum at first, for obvious reasons. But, despite our initial shyness, Mary and I eventually warmed to each other. I felt myself growing extremely fond of her.  
  
I made my first move that summer. The biggest festival in that season, the Fireworks Display, was coming up, and Mary remained dateless. It seemed to me that a large neon sign reading "Single" had been placed on Mary's head, and was getting her rather annoyed. I decided to help her out with this problem. The day before the festival, I took a deep breath and stepped into the library.  
  
"Hey, Mary," I said.  
  
She looked up from her neat desk and smiled at me. "Hello, Gray," she said. "You're here early. Have a book-related craving?"  
  
I felt my nerve falling. "Uh, yeah, I g-guess. Do you have anything new?"  
  
She grinned somewhat roguishly. "Only a couple of romance novels."  
  
"I'll stick with the sci-fi," I said, blushing. I headed over to my favorite section, and I felt myself shaking with a mix of nervousness and anger at myself. I felt a song and its accompanying video pop into my head: 'Something happens and I'm head over heels...'  
  
Shaking my head for clarity, I turned back around. Mary was writing something at her desk. "Hey," I said. She looked up. "Are you going to watch the fireworks tomorrow?"  
  
"Only if someone asks me," she replied, smiling sweetly.  
  
I felt my cheeks grow warmer. So, she knew. I chased the color away and smiled back at her. "Which someone do you want to ask you?"  
  
Mind games are flirting for intellectuals.  
  
She turned her head away, simultaneously blushing and trying to think up a reply. "I was hoping for one with enough confidence to ask right away instead of hiding in pointless conversation," she said.  
  
Ouch, good one. I grinned. "So, I'll pick you up at five-thirty, then?" I asked.  
  
She smiled. "Sure thing."  
  
***  
  
The night had finally come. I managed to get enough wine into Saibara that he'd be out for the whole night; he'd never let me out of the house on a festival night if he were sober. At about five-fifteen, I headed over to Mary's library.  
  
We started to walk over to the beach in a companionable silence. It was a beautifully clear night, perfect for fireworks. The fireworks were the last things on my mind, however. The only thing I wanted to think about was that gorgeous girl beside me. I glanced at her. A loose wisp of hair was dancing in front of her face, and I reached over and brushed it back behind her ear. She smiled at me, and took my hand. We continued walking silently, both of us with overly pleased, idiotic grins on our face.  
  
As we were about to turn the corner to the beach, Mary stopped walking. "Everyone goes to the beach for the Fireworks Display," she said. "Let's go somewhere different, somewhere less crowded." I nodded, and we headed toward the mountain instead.  
  
It was a long hike up to the top of the mountain, but Mary went there every week with her family and was accustomed to the exercise. The show had already started when we got to the top. By the time Mary and I sat down to watch it, it was already halfway through the grand finale. I felt her head lean against my shoulder, and I put my arm around her.  
  
Showing affection has a funny way of becoming addicting. It seems that once you do one thing, you just can't stop, especially if the other person is willingly contributing their actions as well. We'd never allowed our feelings to manifest before, and now that they were set free, they couldn't be controlled. Perhaps everyone goes a little crazy the first time. That might be the reason that teenagers are said to be driven solely by hormones. Whatever the reason, Mary's and my actions became more and more frenzied until - well, let's just say that neither of us was quite as innocent as we were before after that night.  
  
Mary looked up at me, her hair loose, glasses crooked, and eyes shining. "Gray," she said, "those were some beautiful fireworks."  
  
The library was never a busy place, and, after the night of the Fireworks Display, its empty quietness gave us less of a desire to read than to do other, less proper things. I couldn't be happier. Sure, Saibara beat the crap out of me for staying out all night for the festival, and still belittled me daily, but now I could always find solace in Mary's arms. Not too many men could claim to have what we had together. Well, they had a bond like ours in the physical sense, but not the emotional one. Nobody could understand me better than Mary, and vice-versa. Nothing could take that away from me.  
  
Or so I thought.  
  
One day, a new guy came to our village. His name was Jack, and he was going to take over one of the local farms. Apparently, the old farmer there had died, and handed his land over to his grandson, Jack. Ha, Jack the farmer. The name brings the image of a grizzled, nice old man with a straw hat, overalls and a red checkered shirt. I never would have thought of him as a love rival.  
  
You'd think that a person who reads as much as I do would know not to judge a book by its cover- or, in this case, title.  
  
The first time I met Jack personally was in the library. He was walking around the village in order to meet all of its inhabitants, and the building was on his list of places to stop. He was a young man with dark brown hair, not old or grizzled at all. I was right about the overalls, however; he had a pair of denim ones over a white shirt. As soon as he walked in the door, his jaw dropped and he stood motionless, staring rudely at Mary.  
  
She seemed to be unaffected. "Hello," she said in her usual kindly voice. "Welcome to the library. May I help you?"  
  
Jack's jaw snapped shut, and a devilish gleam crept into his eyes. He stepped over to the counter and grabbed Mary's hand, keeping eye contact the whole time. He kissed her hand flirtatiously, and smiled a ladies' man smile. "Hello, mon cheri," he said. "What is a beautiful flower like you doing in this wasteland? Surely you belong in one of those flashy Parisian magazines, not in a dusty old library."  
  
The corner of her mouth twitched with slight irritability. "I make sure that my library is quite dust-free, thank you."  
  
Jack stepped back in feigned shock, a hand placed over his chest. "So sorry, my dear! I never meant to imply that your lovely building was unclean. I meant, of course, that it seemed to be a place of hiding, not at all a suitable place for a gorgeous woman like you."  
  
If it were possible, I would have turned green with envy by this point. I stepped out from the back of the room and stood by Mary's side, clutching her arm protectively.  
  
"I'm Gray," I said gruffly. "This is my girlfriend, Mary. And you are?"  
  
Jack shot me a look of pure hatred, and then turned back to Mary with a charming smile on his face. "How rude of me! I'm Jack, the new farmer in town. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mary."  
  
They shook hands. "Well, I must be off now," said Jack. "There are so many new people to meet in this village, and I've only just begun making new acquaintances. I'll see you later, Mary, dear." He walked out, swaggering arrogantly.  
  
Mary looked up at me. "Why'd you scare him off?" she asked. "You seemed jealous, or something."  
  
I felt my eyes widen. "You expect me not to be? He was hitting on you, right in front of my face!"  
  
"He didn't know we were together," she replied. "Besides, if he had a crush on me, he'd at least come back to the library some more. We need more people to start reading, you know that."  
  
I sighed. "I know. I still don't like the idea of that guy hanging around you, Mary. What if he tries something?"  
  
Mary just laughed. "You think a guy that goes by 'Farmer Jack' could possibly harm me? That boy's harmless. I think you're getting paranoid, Gray."  
  
If only she were right.  
  
Seasons passed us by, as seasons have the tendency to do. It's funny how time flies when you're having a constant death match with your love rival. Jack came to the library every day it was open and vainly attempted to win Mary's love from me. Now, I wouldn't normally be so worried, but I felt paranoid for a reason. That Jack guy seemed like a bad egg to me, and I didn't want Mary to be hurt.  
  
Unfortunately, Mary wasn't nearly as cautious as I. She was starting to take a liking to Jack, though she assured me that it was strictly a friendship, and it could never be anything more. I hoped she was right. Jack seemed like the sadistic type to me. The thought of Mary chained to the wall with fuzzy handcuffs was...slightly arousing? No, no, it was absolutely appalling! I couldn't stand the thought of that...at least, not if Jack was the one with the keys to those handcuffs.  
  
One Saturday afternoon, Jack, Mary, and I were sitting in the library, as usual. Mary was organizing her little card catalogue, while Jack and I glared daggers at one another.  
  
Mary made a discouraged little noise, and we turned to look at her. She had spilled a bottle of ink all over herself. "Damn it," she swore. "I'm going to take a shower and change. Can I trust you two alone for a half hour or so?"  
  
Jack smiled. "Of course, my darling Mary. I can keep this scoundrel here at bay. Go, bathe. Be merry!"  
  
Mary raised an eyebrow, and then walked over to her room, which was connected to the upper floor of the library, shaking her head. We sat motionless for a while. At the sound of the water turning on, Jack rose, smiling evilly at me.  
  
"I'm going to marry her, you know," he said. "You can't do anything to stop me."  
  
I grinned, rising from my chair. "Oh, you think that, do you? Try me, you little prick."  
  
Jack rolled up his sleeves. "Little? I think not. Mary will be so much happier once she sees me devoid of my overalls." He smirked. "Then again, it wouldn't take much to upstage your pathetic performance, now would it?"  
  
I felt my blood heat with anger, and threw myself at Jack. I felt my fist connect soundly with his jaw, and watched as a little trickle of blood snaked its way down his cheek. He held his face for a moment, shocked, and then fought back with a knee to my groin. I doubled over in pain, and he slammed his elbow down at the base of my neck.  
  
I fell, hitting the ground with a thud. Jack reached over to the bookshelf, grabbing a bookend. A couple of books tumbled over the edge, and the only thought that crossed my mind through my anguish was how upset Mary would be with all this mess. Jack smirked down at me, evilly.  
  
"Heh, what a wimp. Think you'll stop me now?"  
  
He raised the bookend up over his head, and smashed it into my temple. Darkness took over me instantly. My last feelings were of the bookend falling into my arms, and Jack's voice yelling through the house in false panic.  
  
"Mary, come down here, quick! Gray whacked me in the jaw with a bookend, and I had to knock him out! I think he's out..."  
  
***  
  
Darkness, flittering before my eyes like so many crows on a moonless night. Mary's face danced among them from time to time, wearing a worried expression, mouthing the words, "Only you, Gray. I'll wait for you." Cruel laughter, Jack's laughter, would sometimes weave itself into the intricate web of my thoughts, creating a noisier, more confusing sequence than before. Bright, colorful lights sometimes entered the mix, but mainly it was a swirling vortex of images. A window, the curtains pushed aside, showed rapidly changing tree colors, the leaves dying, falling off, growing again, dying again. Mary stood next to the window, changing as constantly as the trees. The same worried expression was on her face, seemingly ground into her features permanently. Her body changed, though, expanding and contracting again. After her body went back to normal, she held a little bundle in her arms. She said things, too. Through the confusing, dreamlike state, I could always hear Mary talking to me.  
  
"Oh, Gray, please wake up!"  
  
***  
  
Light and lucidity returned to the world, and I opened my eyes. I was in the clinic, neatly tucked into the spotless white sheets. I looked to my left, and saw a window. A tree stood outside the window, bearing young green leaves. So it was spring. What happened? Was it spring before I fell asleep? That was a long nap.  
  
I heard footsteps to my right, and turned. The nurse was walking into the room with a little clipboard, apparently checking on me. She looked up and caught my eyes, and dropped her clipboard, mouthing, "Mary." She said the word aloud, and then turned around and ran out of the clinic, screaming, "Mary! Mary, Mary, he's awake!"  
  
I arched my eyebrow. Why was it so shocking that I was awake? How long had I been sleeping? I lay back and stared at the ceiling, trying to sort out my troubled thoughts.  
  
The footsteps returned, running at full speed. "See, look, he's awake!" said the nurse's voice, and Mary walked into the little room. She stopped dead when she saw me, and then her face brightened, and she ran to me.  
  
"Gray!"  
  
I caught her in my arms. "Hey, Mary," I said. I really didn't understand why she was so happy. I was just taking a nap, right?  
  
"Oh, Gray, I thought you would never wake up! My sweet, darling Gray!" I felt something moist and warm touch my neck, and realized that Mary was crying.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked, confused. "I was just catching some Z's. What happened?"  
  
Another person entered the room, and I looked up. Jack stood there, smirking, with a small child clutching his hand. "Look, Gray," he said to the child, "you see that there, lying in the bed? That's a genuine loser!"  
  
I looked in the eyes of the child, and saw my own. Everything hit me right then. Jack, the bookend, my coma, and my dreams...they were all true. I looked up at Mary, a feeling of abandonment washing over me.  
  
She interpreted my look, and her face dropped. "I'm sorry, Gray! I wanted to wait for you, but I couldn't..." She trailed off, and I looked at Jack. He had a sick, twisted grin on his face, and what I had thought all along was confirmed: Jack had managed to hurt Mary, and on a level I hadn't even thought of.  
  
"Why did you name him after me?" I asked.  
  
Jack snorted. "It was Mary's idea. She was already pregnant with the little bastard when we got married, and she insisted that he be named after his 'real' father. But hell, what do I care? He may technically be your kid, but he calls ME 'Daddy.'" Jack looked down at the child - my child - and smiled, saying, "Don't you, you little bastard?"  
  
I gripped Mary's hand in mine, sensing her pain and trying to banish my own by comforting her. Many men would blame a woman for all of their misfortunes, but I realized that it wasn't Mary's fault at all. Jack, that sadistic son of a bitch, had forced her into an unwanted marriage. I had imagined foul play with fuzzy handcuffs, but this time, the chains were real. Mary had been reduced to a piece of property, a slave, and she had been taken from her place of freedom and happiness to a place of hatred and misery. She was next to me, physically, but we were thousands of miles apart in the mental sense.  
  
Mary was gone, stolen from my heart forever. 


	5. Unwanted

Have you ever felt that you were torn in two? Was your better half ripped forcibly from you, leaving you shaking and empty like a starved, beaten dog? Did the girl you once loved, were strongly bonded with, leave you in the cold to die, uncaring of your shattered soul? Do you still see her every day, going about her mundane business as if nothing had changed?  
  
Does she snicker cruelly every time you pass by?  
  
True, I was hardened to taunts from an early age; a frail body, glasses, and long, red hair don't help with a guy's popularity. I guess I just expected too much from the other village boys. Who would want to be friends with such a geek, anyway? They beat me up, but in retrospect, it was kind of inevitable.  
  
But no matter what the others said or did to me, she was always there. When my supposed "friends" gave me a shiner, she would hug me, holding a pink, rabbit-shaped ice pack up to my eye and stroking my hair. When they teased me, she would team up with her tomboy best friend and send them home to their mommies with fat lips. Every time they put me down, she would bring me back up. My light, my storm haven, my beloved.  
  
My Karen.  
  
She was more than my best friend and bodyguard. Karen was my life. We spent our childhood days together, playing in the forest behind the church, chasing the chickens at my poultry farm, and sending hopeful letters to the Goddess every winter, asking for a sunny spring the next year. Karen even played with my little sister when I wanted some alone time, keeping her busy so she wouldn't follow me around.  
  
One day in spring, we took a walk up to the lower part of the mountain for a picnic by the hot springs. Karen loved this spot; sometimes she would sit there for hours, staring at the nearby waterfall in hopes that the Goddess would appear there and grant her wishes. It never happened, of course, but she never gave up hope.  
  
"Let's put the blanket here, Rick," she said, pointing to a spot with a perfect view of the little waterfall.  
  
I smiled. Where else would we sit? Karen just loved that area. I spread the blanket down on the grass while she unloaded her little basket. After we ate, she rested her head against my shoulder, staring at the falls complacently.  
  
"Rick?" she said, twisting her head to look at me. I met her big green eyes and smiled.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can we stay like this forever and ever?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You promise?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She held out her pinkies and looked me straight in the eye with dire seriousness. "Pinky swear?" she asked.  
  
I hooked her pinkies in mine. "Yeah," I said. I sure was an eloquent child.  
  
Karen's eyes lit up. "Yay!" she said, and gave me a big hug. "Wanna get married?"  
  
"Yeah!" I shouted enthusiastically.  
  
Ok, I know what you're thinking: how clichéd can you get? Childhood love, a happy marriage, six kids and a storybook ending. Perfect life, the end.  
  
I wish.  
  
For some reason, things don't work out the way you think they will when you're a kid. That afternoon with Karen, I seriously thought I would grow up to marry her, and feed our children by becoming an internationally known rock star.  
  
I also thought I would look like Richard Gere as an adult, own three toy stores, and have my own theme park.  
  
Needless to say, things didn't work out quite like I wanted them to. My dad left us in order to find a cure for my mother's illness, and since my little sister had no idea of how to run the place, I ended up helping out around the farm a lot more. Karen's dad fell into debt by letting his customers put every purchase on their tabs, and she was stuck at his grocery store, making sure people didn't take advantage of him.  
  
Karen was my girlfriend for a few years, but once we hit puberty, we started to grow apart. We just couldn't stop it. I guess Karen realized what was happening, too, and we both tried frantically to patch things up.  
  
By the time we were in our late teens, Karen and I had formed a plan. We would meet every morning by her parent's store and talk, no matter what day of the week it was. We'd skip bad weather and festival days, but those were the only exceptions. On those days, I felt as if I were incomplete. Those talks with Karen made me feel whole. It was as if I were getting to know her all over again, courting this wonderful woman of whom I had only scratched the surface. Indeed, she seemed to be a completely different person. Growing up had a big effect on her. Everything was going well.  
  
But Fate just couldn't leave me be.  
  
One day, a new farmer moved into the ranch next door to ours. His name was Jack, and he seemed to be a decent guy. I didn't talk to him very often, but I just figured he was busy. He came to our poultry farm from time to time to buy chickens or feed for them. When he stopped by, he'd always bring some kind of herb or painkiller for my mother, and greet my sister warmly. He wasn't quite as friendly with me, but he wasn't cold and distant, either. I really had nothing against him.  
  
Note the past tense there.  
  
Jack walked up to Karen and I as we went through with our morning ritual in front of her parent's shop.  
  
"Hey, Karen," said Jack.  
  
"Hey," she replied, a half-smile crossing her face.  
  
"Listen," said Jack, holding out a bouquet of bright yellow flowers, "I was walking in the mountains and I came across some of these. Do you like them?"  
  
Karen's eyes lit up with joy. "Moondrop flowers!" she exclaimed in ecstasy. "Oh, Jack, those are my favorites! Thank you so much!"  
  
Jack smirked. "No problem. See you later, Karen." He looked at me, as if noticing me for the first time. "Rick," he said, nodding his head in acknowledgement of my presence. Then he walked away.  
  
I looked over at Karen. She had a dazed look on her face, and was staring blankly off in the direction that Jack had gone. I waved my hand in front of her face. "Karen?"  
  
She shook her head to clear it. "Hmm?" she said.  
  
"Has he given you flowers before this?"  
  
She laughed somewhat nervously. "Yes, but it's not like I'm taking him seriously! Anybody can give a girl flowers, but it takes someone special to win her heart." She placed her hand over mine reassuringly. "Don't worry, Rick," she said. "You're the number one man in my life."  
  
I leaned over and kissed her. She made me feel a lot better, but for some reason, I still felt slightly uneasy and jealous. Guilt crept through me. Karen told me that nothing was going on between them, and I should trust her. I really had to stop being so paranoid.  
  
A week after the little run-in with Jack, I sat at the bar at the local Inn, sipping liquor from my mug. I'd been going to the bar every night since I was about sixteen, and it was built into my daily habit. Wake up, see Karen, work, go to the bar, sleep. Sometimes I'd see Karen at the bar, as we were both alcohol buffs. She made up the term "alcohol buff" to describe us both, since it sounded much better than "alcoholic." Neither of us wanted to go into rehab, so we figured that using that term would be better for us in the long run.  
  
That night, I drank a little too much, which I don't do very often. In fact, my ability to hold my liquor was so good that I rarely got tipsy. But I guess I indulged a little too much that night. I headed over to where I thought the bathroom was, and found myself leaning against the staircase in order to regain my balance. I heard voices above me that sounded like Karen and her best friend, Ann. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but I did it anyway.  
  
"Oh my God, Karen, he asked you out? What did you say?"  
  
Karen's laughter carried across the boisterous bar. "What do you think I said? What kind of fool do you take me for, Ann?"  
  
"But what about Rick?" asked Ann.  
  
"What about him?" replied Karen. "Look at it this way: Jack's hot, Rick's not. If both of them offer, who do you think I'd go out with?"  
  
Ann sounded a bit distressed. "But Karen," she said, "Rick loves you. You know that. What happened between you two?"  
  
Karen laughed again. This time, however, it didn't sound happy. It sounded...cruel.  
  
"I got a life," she said. "Look, I've protected Rick long enough. It's time to show him that life isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Besides, Jack's a *great* lay. Can you even imagine sex with Rick?"  
  
Both girls exclaimed, "Ewww!" I felt stung. Surely I couldn't be as repulsive as that? Then it hit me: Karen was sleeping with Jack! It was like a great blow to my heart. I fervently wished that I was just drunk off my ass, and hearing things that weren't being said.  
  
"I guess I'll tell him tomorrow or something. I don't want him to think he's dating me when I'm not even interested in him."  
  
Karen...I thought she loved me. I loved her. There was no doubt about it: Karen was the one for me. There was simply no other woman in the world like her. I found myself walking back toward my house in a zombie-like state. I got into bed, staring lankly at the ceiling.  
  
Karen. My Karen.  
  
The sun shining through my window startled me. Mechanically, I got up and dressed, and headed toward Karen's shop. It was such a part of my daily life that I couldn't stop myself. For some reason, it was a bright, sunny day. Whatever happened to pathetic fallacy? It seemed eerily calm out, as if there were a storm brewing on the horizon that hadn't quite reached the village yet. Every step I took made me feel as if I were heading into some sort of personal apocalypse, getting closer to my doom. There had to be something different about this day, something that set it apart from the others.  
  
Yet, when I arrived at her shop, Karen was sitting on the benches outside as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. She smiled up at me.  
  
"Let's go for a walk this morning, okay, Rick?"  
  
We walked out to that area behind the church, the place where we'd played together as children. "How about we go in, for old time's sake?" asked Karen, heading into the forest. I followed silently.  
  
"Listen," she said, "I have to tell you something." The birds in the trees weren't chirping this morning. "I've been seeing Jack. I know we're close, Rick, but Jack and I share something special. There's a unique bond between Jack and I...it's not like anything I've ever had with you. I don't know what it is."  
  
"I do," I said curtly. "Sex."  
  
Karen blushed. "Well, there's that," she said.  
  
I snapped. "Karen!" I shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you? Since when have you become so superficial? You used to love me! I heard you and Ann talking last night, and I have to wonder: when did you start basing your affection for people on their appearance? What happened to us?"  
  
Karen blew a fuse as well. "I grew up!" she shrieked. "I don't need a wimpy mama's boy like you, Rick! I want a real man! Jack, unlike you, has a life! He doesn't plan on staying with his Mommy for the rest of his life, asking her to tuck him in at night and read him a bedtime story! I know I used to protect you from the bullies when we were small, but that was because I felt sorry for you! If I had known it would make you leech on to me for the rest of my life, I would never have helped you out!"  
  
As if to emphasize her point, Karen pushed me down in the dirt, knocking my glasses from my face. She kicked my side, causing me to bend over in pain. I looked up at her with pleading eyes, and saw her towering over me, smirking and laughing cruelly.  
  
"Look at the wimp!" she cried. She kicked me again. "What a loser!" Then Karen walked away, leaving me clutching my side in pain on the forest floor.  
  
I felt myself crying. They say that the kids that get picked on go on to own multi-million dollar corporations and have successful lives. Where are my three billion dollar house and six cars? Where's my happy wife, smiling in contentment by my side? Why did fate leave me out of it?  
  
Why was I so unwanted in life?  
  
Karen and Jack got married the next season. I was the only one in the village not invited. Sometimes I'd see Karen pass by the poultry farm, and I'd make eye contact with her. She'd laugh, a horrible, evil laugh, and keep walking. I no longer saw my old love in her face. All I could see were the bullies that had tormented me in my childhood, laughing as I cried out for mercy.  
  
Karen, what had they done to you? 


	6. Erased

Have you ever been despised by everyone you knew? Were you ever forced to create a mask for yourself out of self-defense that doesn't stand for anything you believe in? Were you judged superficially, and never given the chance to prove your judges wrong? Have you ever felt that you were permanently placed in the vulnerable, awkward stage of your life? Have you ever had your happiest moments shattered by the fact that your whole life is a lie?  
  
Was the wool over your eyes torn cruelly away and wrapped around your throat?  
  
When I look back at the events, I see that I led myself into it, and I know now what I could've done to prevent it. But they say that hindsight is 20/20 vision, and I understand that my future is down the drain and the plumber's retired. Looking back shows me that her plans were visible all along.  
  
They were just as transparent as I am now.  
  
I first went to Mineral Town when I was ten. My father was a traveling merchant, and he liked finding new places in desperate need of trade. Unlike most children, I loved the life of a vagabond. Most kids complained about how traumatizing it was to move, but I never thought it was a bad thing.  
  
Truth to be told, I hated staying in the same place with the same people. Wherever I went, the local children would make fun of me, and the only way for me to find release from the constant torture was to move again. I guess you could say they hated me because I was different, but I think that particular statement has a high "duh" factor. I had gone through puberty when I was nine, which put a huge boundary between my peers and me. I was 5'3 in the fourth grade, and loomed over all of my classmates. All of my potential male friends loathed me because of my height, deep voice, and overall maturity. It wasn't my fault that I looked that way, and yet they treated me as if I were the anti-Christ.  
  
It didn't help that girls really liked me. I looked like something out of a boy band to them, so I was constantly smothered with women. Since the other boys were smaller than me and afraid to beat me up for stealing their attention, they opted to shun me. I found solace in the arms of my little girlfriends, who were my only friends wherever I went. I guess being around the  
  
The only other thing I found comfort in was swimming. I was a strong swimmer, and my father enrolled me in swim teams wherever I went. I guess I liked it so much because it was easy to clear my mind of the stress and torment of everyday life by just mindlessly kicking and moving my arms. No matter how mean everyone else was, the water was always accepting, always willing to take me back into its flowing embrace.  
  
The beach in Mineral Town was one of the most alluring factors the place held. As my father and I sat on board the ferry, I rested my eyes upon the far-away strip of sand that was the beach. The water sloshing at the edges of our boat was a deep, calming blue, and I could almost feel it splashing on my skin with the warmth that came from late spring weather. 'Only a little longer,' I thought, anxious to jump in.  
  
But, once we got on shore, my father pulled me over to a group of children and left me there to "make friends." It was a very small group, composed of one boy and five girls.  
  
"Hi," I said, "I'm Kai. What's your name?"  
  
The other kids just looked at me. Finally, a little boy with red hair spoke up.  
  
"Why are you talking to us, big kid?" he asked curiously.  
  
I smiled. Finally, someone wasn't being hostile from the start! "I'm not a big kid," I replied. "I'm ten. I just look big."  
  
The boy smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Rick. I'm ten too. My mommy and daddy have a chicken farm." He paused, looking around. "Where's your mommy?"  
  
I looked down. "My mom left me when I was six," I said.  
  
The little girls looked sad, but Rick laughed. He pointed to me, continuing his laughter. "Your mommy doesn't love you!" he taunted. "Nobody wants you!"  
  
I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "Stop it," I said, trying not to cry in front of all the little girls.  
  
But Rick was persistent. "What'd you do to make you so bad that even your mommy hates you? Huh, loser?" I sniffled, my chest shaking slightly.  
  
I heard a loud "oof!" come from Rick's direction, and looked up. A little girl with bright pink hair had pushed Rick on the ground.  
  
"Just because everyone makes fun of you doesn't mean you can be mean to other people! He was just trying to make friends, Rick!"  
  
Rick looked up at the little girl, and his bottom lip started trembling. Before he could start crying, however, another little girl came out of the crowd and picked him up.  
  
"Thanks, Karen," he said, sniffling and wiping his eyes.  
  
"It's ok," said the little girl who had helped him up. She looked at me apologetically, and then walked off with Rick in another direction.  
  
The girl with pink hair watched them walk off, and then turned back to be when they were out of earshot. "Don't mind Rick," she said. "He's just a big meanie." She smiled at me, and held her hand out. "I'm Popuri, Rick's little sister."  
  
I took her hand and shook it. "Thanks," I said, and looked her over. She was wearing a cute green dress with a floral print, and looked a lot older than Rick. "Are you really his little sister?"  
  
Popuri laughed. She had a very bright, girly laugh. "Yep. I look older than him, I know, and I can beat him up, too. He's a wimp, and Karen's his only friend."  
  
"Poor guy," I said. "People make fun of him?"  
  
"Yeah," replied Popuri. "Even the chickens don't like him!"  
  
We both laughed for a moment. "Let's go for a walk!" suggested Popuri. "Then we can get to know each other better!"  
  
I agreed, and we walked off down a path together.  
  
"So, Popuri...why is your hair pink?"  
  
***  
  
Over the next couple of days, Popuri and I bonded. I got to know some of the other village girls, too, but I hung out with Popuri the most. All in all, it was much like all of the other places I had lived - the boys hated me and the girls loved me. But somehow, Mineral Town had something extra in it. Maybe it was the fact that the summer season always had an air of romance, and Popuri was something special to me.  
  
One day, on my way home after hanging out with Popuri for a long time, I saw Karen sitting alone on a bench near her parents' store. Her head was down, and her shoulders were shaking. Was she...crying? I walked over to the bench and sat down beside her.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
Karen sniffled and looked up quickly, and I saw what the problem was. She had a big cut on her lower lip, which was abnormally swollen. I gasped. "What happened?"  
  
She rubbed a hand across her eyes, trying vainly to wipe away all her tears. "Nothing," she said, putting her head down and avoiding eye contact.  
  
I put my finger under her chin and lifted her head back up. "That sure doesn't look like nothing," I said. "What happened, really? You can trust me, I promise."  
  
Karen sniffled weakly again, and was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was heavy with suppressed tears. "I feel stupid," she said. "I was walking in the kitchen with a big plate of food, and I tripped on the table leg. The plate broke, and a piece cut my lip."  
  
I smiled at her. "It's okay," I said. "No use crying over spilled milk."  
  
She let out an unexpected trill of laughter. "It's funny!" she explained to my raised eyebrow. "I was carrying a tray of milk and cookies!"  
  
I laughed as well. Karen gave me a broad smile, and then winced from the pain in her lip. "It hurts," she said.  
  
I hugged her, feeling like a consoling parent. "Want me to kiss it and make it all better?" I asked, only half joking.  
  
She shrugged. "Okay."  
  
We leaned in to each other, and our lips met. It wasn't my first kiss, and I suspected that it wasn't hers either. The kiss was a friendly one, devoid of any passion or attachment, and was meant solely as a way to make a boo- boo feel better.  
  
We heard a gasp to our side, and broke off the kiss, looking toward the source of the sound. Rick was standing there, gazing incredulously at us.  
  
"Rick, it's not what it looks like!" exclaimed Karen.  
  
But Rick didn't hear her. He strode over to me, and slammed his fist into my jaw. I reeled back, clutching it. Rick was breathing heavily with anger.  
  
"You stay away from Karen, you freak. I hate the idea of you going out with my little sister, but if you're gonna be with her, stay the hell away from my girl. If you break Popuri's heart, I'll break you, punk."  
  
I had learned from experience that when someone was angry, geek or no, they could definitely beat the crap out of a person with very little effort. It seemed like a good time to leave, so I did. I went home and nursed my jaw, avoiding my father and the need to tell him that I had just been beaten up by the village wimp.  
  
I thought that the incident would remain private, but apparently news traveled faster in small places than I thought. The next day, Popuri walked up to me in a fit of fury and slapped my cheek, leaving a red hand-shaped mark there.  
  
"I hate you!" she exclaimed. "I leave you alone for one day, ONE day, and you go off kissing other girls!" Through her fury I saw tears welling up in her eyes. "How could you do this to me?"  
  
"Popuri," I said, reaching out to touch her arm.  
  
She jerked angrily away from me. "Don't touch me!" she cried. "I hate you, Kai! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"  
  
She started to walk away, and ran right into Karen. 'I'm screwed now,' I thought.  
  
Karen gave Popuri an apologetic look. "Popuri, it really wasn't what it looked like," said Karen.  
  
Popuri turned away from her. "Yeah, the crocodile tears of a whore." She turned back and smiled. "I saw that on T.V.! I don't know what it means, but it makes me sound grown-up, huh?" Then she realized who she was talking to, and defiantly turned away again.  
  
Karen raised an eyebrow, but kept her voice steady. "Look, he was just kissing my boo-boo, to make it feel better. I don't want to steal him from you, and I know he likes you better than me. Besides, Rick is my boyfriend! I wouldn't want to hurt him." She looked at her feet. "I guess I already did, though. I'm sorry, Popuri. Tell Rick that." With that, Karen walked away.  
  
Popuri turned back to me. I looked into her eyes, searching for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, too," I said. "Really, Poppy, you're the only girl for me."  
  
She wiped away her tears and hugged me tightly. "It's ok," she said. "Just never do it again, okay?" I nodded, and gave her a kiss.  
  
***  
  
At the end of the summer, my father came up to me and smiled. "How do you like it here?" he asked.  
  
I smiled broadly back at him. "I love it!" I said. "It's the best place we've been so far! How long can we stay?"  
  
His smile disappeared, and a pained expression replaced it. "I hate to tell you this, Kai," he said, "but we're leaving tomorrow. You should go and say goodbye to all your friends here now, since we're leaving early tomorrow."  
  
I looked back at him, stricken. "Why?" I cried.  
  
He hugged me. "I'm sorry, buddy," he said. "The life of the traveling merchant isn't a steady one. There are lots of ports out there." His mouth twitched up at one side. "On the plus side, we can come back here every summer!"  
  
I gave him a little smile. "I'll go say 'bye' to my friends now, then," I said, and walked out.  
  
On the day I left, Popuri and I stood on the docks together, waiting for the ferry. I had said my farewells to everyone else, but she insisted on coming to the pier at the early morning hours for our last meeting that year.  
  
"I'll write to you every week," I said, embracing her. "I'll call you as much as I can, too."  
  
She cried into my shirt. "Don't leave me, Kai!" she said. "I don't want you to leave."  
  
I stroked her abnormally-colored hair, kissing her forehead. "I'll come back next year, you'll see! Don't worry, Popuri, I'll come back for you."  
  
She looked up at me. "You promise?"  
  
I kissed her. "I promise," I said.  
  
The ferry pulled up to the dock, and Popuri hugged me tightly. "I love you, Kai," she said.  
  
"I love you too, Poppy."  
  
***  
  
I traveled around with my father, and though we found many things in many different places, I never found any girl quite like Popuri. Instead of attempting to make new friends at the various ports we went to, I found myself counting the days until we would return to Mineral Town. She was the only thing that was ever on my mind besides swimming. Swimming was, in fact, the only thing I enjoyed other than Mineral Town.  
  
When we did return to Mineral Town every summer, I would spend every waking moment with Popuri. We were inseparable. Every day was nirvana when we were together, whether we were hiking in the forest or swimming at the beach. I still swam a lot in Mineral Town, even with Popuri. She enjoyed watching me swim, and so I indulged.  
  
Soon enough, I was old enough to be on my own in the world. I worked in a cold, snowy place for three seasons a year, but I spent my summers at Mineral Town every year. My father was taking his business across the globe, but I found it easier to have my own little restaurant wherever I went. I had a nice little junk food place that I ran from autumn to spring, but my summers were reserved for my little shop there. I called it the Seaside Shack, and people from all over came to get some food from me.  
  
Okay, my only regular customer was Popuri. She came every single day and helped me run the place. I guess she was more of an employee that I didn't pay. But she did tell her friends about the Seaside Shack, and they came over and bought some junk food. Men stayed relatively clear of the beach during the summer; apparently Rick had spread some gossip about my being a womanizer, or something. I wasn't running the shop for the money, anyway; it was more of an excuse to be able to live by the beach and not have to pay to stay at the local Inn.  
  
The years passed by in a blur of old memories. One year, a new guy came to the village. His name was Jack, and he was a farmer. I met him for the first time when I was cleaning up the store at the beginning of the summer. I heard a little cough and turned toward it, expecting to see Popuri. Instead, a guy was standing there, shuffling his feet in the sand.  
  
"Hello!" I called out. "Can I help you?"  
  
The man looked up, and smiled nervously. "Hey," he said. "I'm Jack. I just moved here this spring."  
  
I shook his hand. "Welcome, Jack!" I said. "I'm Kai. This is my restaurant. If you've ever got the munchies, just come and talk to me. Well, maybe not today; I'm still setting up."  
  
Jack smiled. "I've got a minute," he said. "Need a hand?"  
  
I smiled back at him. "Sure!"  
  
We worked on the messy place for the rest of the day. It got so dirty while I was away. It usually took me two or three days to clean the place myself, but with Jack helping, it was done in no time. I got to know him while we cleaned up, and he seemed to be a really nice guy.  
  
"Thanks a bunch, man!" I said to him afterwards, slapping him on the back.  
  
"No problem," said Jack. "What do you say we head to the Inn and have a drink?"  
  
I grinned. "Sounds great!"  
  
We went to the Inn and sat at a table together, sipping our liquor. Jack was really friendly, and the booze loosened our tongues, letting us talk even more freely.  
  
"You know," I said to Jack, "you're the only guy that's nice to me."  
  
Jack gave me a sympathetic look. "I don't see why," he said. "You're a great guy!"  
  
I grinned. "Thanks."  
  
I spent the rest of that summer hanging out with both Popuri and Jack. It was exhilarating to me to actually have a male friend to hang out with, and I took full advantage of it. When I left again, I had two people saying farewell to me on my early-morning ferry ride out of the village, and I was genuinely sorry to leave both of them. I spent the rest of the year in my other, icy home, splitting my time between work and swimming in indoor, heated pools. The chlorine was suffocating to me, but I managed to ignore it after a while.  
  
Finally, it was summer again. I went on the ferry, waiting impatiently for my arrival at Mineral Town. I couldn't wait to see Jack and Popuri again. My best friend and my girlfriend awaited me on the dock on the other side of the ocean, and I could almost see them standing there, waiting for me.  
  
Soon enough, I did see them on the pier. They seemed to be standing rather close, but I shrugged it off as an illusion of distance. When the ferry finally arrived, they both ran enthusiastically toward me, and I was caught up in a loving three-way embrace. We chatted amiably about what had happened over the past year, catching up on old times. It was great to be back!  
  
One day, after I closed up the Shack, I decided to go surprise Jack on his farm. I'd been there a couple of times the previous year, and I wanted to see how far he'd gotten with its development. I headed over there happily, humming a little tune.  
  
When I got to his farm, all the windows were dark. That was kind of surprising, since it was about eight thirty, and kind of dark. Most people had their lights on by that time. As I got closer to his little house, I noticed that there was a dull glow in one of the window. Ah, he had a candle. I smirked. Candles were usually reserved for romantic occasions, so I had the idea that Jack was entertaining a guest. Did Jack have a special girl he was interested in? Why hadn't he told me? I walked over to his window, hoping to catch a glimpse of who the lucky lady was.  
  
What I saw shocked me. Jack was indeed entertaining a lady friend, but she definitely wasn't one I'd approve of. He and Popuri were kissing on his sofa. Now, it wasn't the type of boo-boo kissing that I had done with Karen all those years back. No, this was deep, probing kissing, the kind that Popuri and I reserved for foreplay. That was apparently what I was witnessing, for their kissing evolved into more intimate motions.  
  
I jerked myself away from the window, stricken. How could they do this to me? My two best friends were...I shook my head, incredulous. No, it couldn't be. It just couldn't be! I started running, and slammed into Jack's mailbox hard on the way out.  
  
I ran to the bar. I needed to get drunk, really drunk, and kill off all the brain cells that would remember what I had just seen. On my way into the bar, I ran into Karen. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she had obviously been crying.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked, ignoring my own misery for a moment to comfort her. I had never been as close to Karen as I was to Popuri, but we had remained friends for all those years.  
  
"I need to get drunk," she said. "I need it, now."  
  
I nodded, and walked with her in silence to the bar. We sat next to each other and nursed some drinks, waiting to get smashed enough to confide in each other. Karen opened up first.  
  
"Rick and I had a fight," she said, her voice slurred. "He said he doesn't love me anymore. What happened to you?"  
  
"I just saw Popuri cheating on me with Jack."  
  
She put a clumsy arm around my shoulder. "I hate relationships," she said. "What do you say we show 'em not to mess with us?"  
  
I looked at her, perplexed. "How do we do that?"  
  
She grinned at me. "Let's go to the beach," she said. "I'll show exactly what I mean."  
  
She grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the bar and down to the beach. The alcohol in our blood took over, and I didn't even realize what I was doing until I heard a small scream.  
  
"Kai!" screamed Popuri.  
  
Karen looked up in fear. She grabbed her discarded clothing and ran from the beach in terror. I was left with Popuri, alone on the beach.  
  
"How could you do that?" she asked.  
  
I looked at her rebelliously. "I saw what you were doing with Jack," I said. "You think I'm the bad one? How long has this been going on?"  
  
She frowned at me. "A long time," she said. "You expect me to wait for you forever, Kai?"  
  
I felt my eyes water. "Popuri," I said, "I love you. I'm a drunk fool right now, and I'm sorry for what I did. Can't you take me back? I'm sorry, and I love you!"  
  
Popuri gave me a merciless glare. "No," she said. "You only complicate things! I'm going to have the village exile you...if I kill a couple of my family's chickens and tell them you did it, they'll believe me. You'll be gone for good."  
  
I stared at her. "Why?" I asked. "What happened to us?"  
  
She sighed impatiently. "I need a man that's always here for me, Kai," she said. "Jack's not going to leave me alone. You, on the other hand, leave me all the time. My brother hates you, and yells at me all the time for being with you. He approves of Jack. You just make things bad for me."  
  
I couldn't believe it. She didn't love me, after all. Popuri continued with her little speech. "It's even worse now that you saw me and Jack together. I can't let it get around that I've slept with him before marriage, now can I? I need to get rid of you somehow..."  
  
She looked about for a solution to her problem, and her eyes rested upon the sea. An evil gleam came to her eyes, and she turned back to me. She grabbed my hands and started dragging me toward the pier.  
  
"Poor Kai," she said to herself. "He drowned at sea! I told him not to go swimming after he drank so much, but he just didn't listen to me." Popuri tied my arms tightly behind my back. She grabbed two large rocks and tied them to my feet, pushing my legs over the edge. "Of course, I'll have to add some tears to make it realistic, but that shouldn't be too hard."  
  
My eyes widened in horror as comprehension dawned on me. She was going to kill me! I was going to be fish food! I tried to struggle, but I was much too inebriated to move. She pushed me into the water, but held my head up, lowering me slowly into the water.  
  
"Bye, Kai," she said, lowering my head into the water just enough so that my nose and mouth were under. "I guess this is the final goodbye, huh? I'll see you next summer! Oh, wait, no I won't!" She giggled. "See you in hell, I guess." With that, Popuri dropped me into the water.  
  
I thrashed violently, trying to free myself from my bonds. Eventually I gave up, and looked up to the surface, only half conscious. All I could see was the dark night sky, oddly deformed by the water. I floated listlessly, feeling the air drain rapidly from my lungs.  
  
I felt betrayed by everything. My love, my friend-even the water had gotten back at me in the end. The worst thing was that when I looked back at my life, I realized that I really hadn't done anything monumental with my life. Sure, a couple of people in the middle of nowhere wouldn't get the summer junk food they were used to, but they could cope with that. In my other home, nobody would notice at all; there were plenty of other fast food places they could go.  
  
In the end, it was as if I had never been.  
  
I was erased, like an unwanted, crooked line on a piece of endless paper. 


End file.
